Worsted drawing machines



April 21, 1964 G. H. AMBLER 3,129,468 WORSTED, DRAWING MACHINES Filed Dec. 9, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 United States Patent 3,129,468 WORSTED DRAWING MACHINES Geoffrey Hill Ambler, llkley, England, assignor to Ambler Superdraft Limited, Ilkley, England, a British company Filed Dec. 9, 1958, Ser. No. 779,136 6 Claims. (Cl. 119-283) This invention relates to worsted drawing machines as used in the Bradford system.

The primary object of the invention is to enable much shorter staple wool to be drafted than heretofore possible by the ordinary Bradford system, a secondary object being to increase the versatility of the drawing machines used in this system. A further object is to produce a very short staple roving by this system that is sufficiently uniform for it to be spun with very high draft, particularly by the method and apparatus of Patent No. 2,641,026. Yet another object is to enable either twisted or twistless slivers, particularly of short staple wool, with or without oil, to be drafted by this system.

Worsted spinning of short wool fibres, particularly short merino wools, is ordinarily carried out by the French (or Continental) system or by the American system. The French system effects all the drawing through pins, using gill boxes in the earlier stages and porcupines in the later stages. The final spinning stage demands a twistless roving, and to provide essential cohesion during drawing the twistless sliver is rolled between rubbing leathers. The wool must be entirely free from oil, or practically so, otherwise lapping would occur at the rubbing leathers and the porcupines. Apart from the gill boxes in the early stages, a low draft3 /z to 4-is necessary, which necessitates a large number of drawing operations to produce a roving sufliciently uniform for spinning.

Although the French system can process longer staple wools, these are usually processed by the Bradford systeam. The French system is enabled to handle the shorter staple wools because of the very small diameters of the front rollers used for drafting in the drawing machines and also in the mule (similar to the cotton mule) or ring frame on which the roving is spun. The small front rollers enable the distance between the small diameter carriers or the aprons and these front rollers to be kept small.

The American system, like the French system, can process shorter staple wools than the Bradford system, but it cannot process wool as long in staple as can the Bradford system. In it, the drawing is effected by a succession of gilling operations, followed by apron drafting in the roving operation, apron drafting also bein'g'used in the spinning. To prevent roller lapping, it is usual to limit the amount of oil added to the wool to about 1 /2 The ordinary Bradford system, for which the wool is normally combed on the Noble system, first draws a twistless sliver in gill-boxes, twist being applied to the sliver in the second gill-box. Designed originally for very long staple wool, its drawing machines use front and back rollers of substantial diameter, of large ratch because of the long staple, and adjustable as to spacing in accordance with any particular staple, there being intermediate driven carrier rollers with very light tumbler rollers resting on the fibres above the carriers to control the twist, the lightness of the tumblers permitting them to be driven by the fibres. Because the fibres are drawn while twisted in the later operations, about 3% of oil is added to provide inter-fibre lubrication.

Although machines exist in which there is some combination of characteristics of the various systems, it can be broadly stated that the ordinary Bradford system is best suited for the longer staple wool, and produces in a few operations a satisfactory oiled and twisted roving for the very high drafting of such wool; that the French system though applicable to short staple wool, involves a large number of operations; and apart from its essential exclu- 81.011 of twist during drawings, does not produce a suffic1ently uniform thick sliver for use in the very high draftmg of short staple Wool; and that the American system does not produce a twisted sliver of the correct thickness necessary for very high drawings of short staple wool.

Versatility as to length of staple that can be handled is a most desirable attribute in any system; but the Bradford system, capable of handling the longest staple, has its drawing machines as dimensioned in accordance with long staples that on the face of it it Would appear inherently impossible to handle really short staple by that system. However, by means of the present invention, such an extension of the availability of the Bradford system is rendered possible, and the system is made most versatile and even improved as regards the quality of roving from the longer staples to which the system was previously confined.

According to the present invention, a drawing machine having front and back rollers of large diameter as characteristic of the Bradford system has interposed between those rollers two pairs of small diameter rollers, all positively driven, with both top rollers positively weighted the rearmost more heavily than the foremost.

With the foremost pair of small rollers positioned near to the normal front rollers to control the short staple fibres in the top sliver, which their small diameter makes possible, the two pairs of small rollers similarly spaced, andthe normal back rollers again similarly spaced from the rearmost small rollers, the pressure exerted at spaced intervals provides the cohesion lacking by reason of the absence of twist in the top sliver. It does this by providing that a hard core of fibres connects each successive pair of rollers and by nipping this hard core to the sliver as a whole. Consequently, as fibres are progressively drawn forward at an increasing rate, resulting from the draft, they are drawn individually from the hard core by the normal front rollers, but without disturbing the continuity of the core.

The sliver is necessarily flattened into a broad ribbon, and it is advantageous (though not absolutely essential) for one of the rearrnost rollers to have flanges to confine the edges of the ribbon, with the other roller fitting between these flanges.

To keep the sliver taut, the two pairs of small rollers run at peripheral speeds slightly and progressively higher, e.g., 4% than-that of the normal back rollers; the essential draft, say 6 or 7', being effected by the usual higher speed of the normal front rollers as compared with the normal back rollers.

The two pairs of small rollers, which may be combined into a unit, may be inserted in a drawing machine after removal of the usual carriers and tumblers. They, preferably as a unit, may be adjustable in relation to the normalfront rollers, in accordance with the length of staple.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which FIGURE 1 is a sectional elevation of part of the drawing apparatus,

FIGURE 2 is an elevation to a larger scale of one side of the unit housing the two pairs of small rollers,

FIGURE 3 is a plan of the unit shown in FIGURE 2,

FIGURE 4 is an elevation of the side of the unit opposite to that shown in FIGURE 2,

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view on the line 55 in FIGURE 2,

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view of the line 66 in FIGURE 2,

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view on the line 7-7 in FIGURE 2, and

FIGURE 8 is an isometric view of the driving gearing for the unit.

As indicated in FIGURE 1, a twistless sliver 11 is passed from feed (i.e, back) rollers 12 to and through the hips of two pairs of intermediate rollers 13, 14 and 16, 17 and from there to the nip of drafting (i.e., front) rollers 13, 19, the drafted sliver being twisted to form a roving 21 by a fiyer device (not shown) of known construction.

The intermediate rollers and gearing for driving them are all mounted in a self-contained unit (indicated generally in FIGURE 1 by reference numeral 22) which, as will be seen from later description, is readily detachable as a whole from the drawing apparatus for cleaning, repair or replacement purposes.

The unit 22 is supported in the aparatus by a bar 23 extending lengthwise of the apparatus and to which is secured the main body 24- of the unit, the bar 23 being adjustable towards and away from the drafting rollers 18 and 19 to vary the distance between the nips of the front intermediate rollers 16 and 17 and the drafting rollers. The body is recessed at 26 to accommodate a bearing member 27 which forms a close fit with the legs 28 of the recess 26 to locate the unit laterally, the member 27 also housing a driving shaft 29 driven by gearing (not shown) from a suitable part of the apparatus. Although only one unit 22 is shown, it will be understood that there will be provided one unit for each spindle of the apparatus, the shaft 29 being common to the various units, gears 31 being provided at spaced intervals along the shaft 29 for driving the individual units 22.

The lower rear intermediate roller 14 is secured to a shaft 32 rotatably mounted in bearings in the body 24 and is formed with a pair of flanges 33 between which the upper roller 13 fits closely and rests on the sliver 11 passing between the flanges 33, the sliver 11 thus being confined into a compact section. A gear 34 is secured to the shaft 32 and is adapted to engage one of the gears 31 on the common shaft 29.

The lower front intermediate roller 17 is rotatably mounted in bearings in the body 24 and is driven through a gear 36 secured to one end of the roller 17 and arranged in engagement with an idler gear 37 attached to an idler shaft 38 rotatably mounted in the body 24. The shaft 38 extends right through the body 24 and has secured to its other end a further idler gear 39 arranged in engagement with a further idler gear 41 freely mounted on a stub shaft 42 housed in one end of the body 24, a coaxial stub shaft 43 being housed in the opposite end of the body 24.

The upper rear intermediate roller 13 is formed integrally with its supporting shaft 44 which is rotatably mounted in bearings in a bracket 46 and has secured to one end a gear 47 arranged to engage the idler gear 41, the bracket 46 being pivotably mounted on the stub shafts 42 and 43 so as to be movable about the axis of the idler gear 41 while retaining driving engagement between the gears 41 and 47.

The upper front intermediate roller 16 is similarly rotatably mounted in bearings in a bracket 48 and is driven through a gear 49 secured to one end of the roller 16 and arranged to engage the idler gear 41, the bracket 48 being pivotably mounted on the stub shafts 42 and 43 so as to be movable about axis of the idler gear 41 while retaining driving engagement between the gears 49 and 41. The rollers 13, 14- and 16, 17 are all finely fluted.

A rear sliver guide 51 is mounted in the body 24 and serves to condense and guide the sliver into the space between the flanges of the rear roller 14, and a similar guide 52 is arranged between the rear and front intermediate rollers and serves to retain the compact mass of fibers issuing from the nip of the rear rollers.

End covers 53 and 54 serve to protect the gears and bearings of the unit, while inward projections 56 from the covers serve to locate the various shafts and rollers in an endwise direction.

The weighting of the front intermediate rollers 16 and 17 is eifected by weights 57 attached to the bracket 48, while the weighting of the rear intermediate rollers 13 and 14 is effected by a hanging weight 58 pivotably attached to a lever 59 at one of a variety of positions, indicated by recesses 61, breaking into a common adjusting slot 62, the lever being pivoted at 63, on a bracket 64- secured to the bar 23, and attached by a hanger 66 to a hook member 67 secured to the bracket 46.

The feed rollers 12 and drafting rollers 18, 19 are subjected to very heavy pressure by means of the screw type weighting devices normally used in the Bradford system.

The drawing apparatus described above has successfully drafted wool of staple length as ordinarily used in the woolen trade, and much too short for any worsted system, as shown by the following examples:

Material: A 360 dram (per 40 yards) 4/ 6 months 70s Cape top, French combed and finished by gilling, with 2% combing oil, as normally sold as broken tops to the woolen trade. An attempt to gill the top further produced a most uneven silver.

Drawing plan:

1st operation-Two untwisted Top slivers were led direct to the Finisher bael: rollers straight from the balls.

Sliver Input (Drams/40-yds.) 360 (Untwisted sliver) Doubling 2. Draft Output. Sliver (DramsMO-ytls 2nd operati0n 7.2. 100 (Twisted sliver).

Sliver Input (Dramsl itl-yds.) 100 (Twist-ed sliver).

Doubling 4.

Draft 6.3.

Output sliver (Dramsl40-yds.) 63 (Twisted sliver).

3rd operation- Sliver Input (Drams/40-yds.).. 63 (Twisted sliver).

Doub' g 4.

Draft c- 6.3.

Output Sliver (Drams/ldyds.) 40 (Twisted sliver).

Normal back Rear- Fore- Normal rollers of most most front rollers drawing small small of machine machine rollers rollers Diameter top roller 2 l" 6" (cork covered);

Diameter bottom 2 1 4".

roller.

Pressure Very heavy 13 lbs 10 02-- Very heavy (i.e. as (Le. as convenconventional in tional in the Bradthe Bradlord Sysford Systern). tem).

Distance between rollers: Inches Normal back to normal front 5% Normal back to rearmost small (151:

tron) 2.2 Norma; back to rearmost small (2nd opera- 21 on Rearmost small to foremost small 1.62 Foremost small to normal front (15!: operation) 1.7 Foremost small to normal front (2nd operation) 1.8

No trouble whatsoever was experienced in processing and the Uster results of the sliver produced from the three operations was as follows:

Drains: U percent 100 5.22 63 3.80 40 3.93

The final 40-dram was well up to the standard of uniformity of a good Bradford type roving of merino wool.

It was then spun into a single yarn of 32s counts on a machine in accordance with Patent No. 2,641,026 operating as follows:

Spindles running 8 Duration of run hours 9 Broken ends 3 Broken ends per 100 sp. hours 4 Draft 74 Spindle speed 6500 Traveller 22 Flume setting .6" Tension roller weights ounces 10 Twist t.p.i /2 Uster percent 14.94

Thus, by means of the invention, standard Bradford system draw boxes, weigh boxes, and finishers can be made to make a roving out of wool of staple too short for satisfactory gilling, and the roving is immediately suitable for spinning with very high draft.

Although, as indicated above, the invention provides for the drafting of short staple wool with oil sufficient to enable the resultant twisted roving to be spun with very high draft, wool without oil may also be drafted by means of the invention, and the oil-less roving may be collected without twist, for spinning in machines, such as aprondrafting machines, where oil must be absent.

A Bradford draw-box fitted in accordance with the invention may be used for the drafting of the longer staple wool for which the draw-box is ordinarily used, it being found that slightly better rovings are then produced by the action of the two small roller pairs replacing the normal carriers and tumblers.

I claim:

1. An intermediate unit for a drawing apparatus of the kind including feed rollers, drafting rollers between which a roving or sliver may pass and a driving shaft, said intermediate unit comprising a main body adapted for attachment to the drawing apparatus between the feed and drafting rollers, said main body including two pairs of intermediate rollers in the main body spaced from each other along a line extending between the drafting and feed rollers, each pair consisting of an upper and a lower roller, said intermediate rollers being considerably smaller in diameter than the feed and drafting rollers and being secured to shafts rotatably mounted in the main body, a gear at one end of each of the lower roller shafts, an intermediate gear connecting the two lower roller gears and secured to one end of a common intermediate shaft, a gear at the opposite end of each of the upper roller shafts, a further intermediate gear secured to the opposite end of the common intermediate shaft and connected to the two upper roller gears through an idler gear, gearing for connecting the gear trains thus formed to the driving shaft of the drawing apparatus, and individual weight ing means for supplying pressure at the nip of each pair of intermediate rollers, the weighting means for the pair of intermediate rollers nearest the rear end of the main body being adapted to exert a greater pressure on the roving or sliver than that exerted by the other pair of intermediate rollers.

2. An intermediate unit as in claim 1, wherein the intermediate rollers are each rotatably mounted in a bracket pivotally mounted in the unit about a common axis coincident with the axis of idler gear connecting said further intermediate gear to said upper roller gears.

3. An intermediate unit for drafting apparatus of the class including feed rollers, drafting rollers between which a roving or sliver may pass, and a drive shaft; said intermediate unit comprising a main body adapted for positioning between the feed and drafting rollers, two pairs of intermediate rollers in the main body spaced from each other along a line extending between the drafting and feed rollers, said intermediate rollers being considerably smaller in diameter than the feed and drafting rollers, means operatively connecting each of said intermediate rollers in driven relation to said drive shaft, and individual weighting means for supplying pressure at the nip of each pair of intermediate rollers, when said main body is positioned between the feed and draft rollers, said weighting means for the pair of intermediate rollers nearest the feed rollers producing a greater pressure on the roving or sliver than that exerted by the other pair of intermediate rollers.

4. An intermediate unit for drafting apparatus of the class including feed rollers, drafting rollers between which a roving or sliver may pass, and a drive shaft; said intermediate unit comprising, a main body adapted for positioning between the feed and drafting rollers, two pairs of intermediate rollers in the main body spaced from each other along a line extending between the drafting and feed rollers, said intermediate rollers being considerably smaller in diameter than the feed and drafting rollers, means operatively connecting each of said intermediate rollers in driven relation to said drive shaft, said last mentioned means driving said pairs of intermediate rollers at peripheral speeds slightly and progressively higher than that of the feed rollers to maintain taut the material passing therebetween, and individual weighting means for supplying pressure at the nip of each pair of intermediate rollers, when said main body is positioned between the feed and draft rollers, said weighting means for the pair of intermediate rollers nearest the feed rollers producing a greater pressure on the roving or sliver than that exerted by the other pair of intermediate rollers.

5. An intermediate unit for drafting apparatus of the class including feed rollers, drafting rollers between which a roving or sliver may pass, and a drive shaft; said intermediate unit comprising, a main body adapted for positioning between the feed and drafting rollers, two pairs of intermediate rollers in the main body spaced from each other along a line extending between the drafting and feed rollers, said intermediate rollers being considerably smaller in diameter than the feed and drafting rollers, one of the rearmost pair of intermediate rollers being formed with a pair of flanges between which the other roller of that pair fits, means operatively connecting each of said intermediate rollers in driven relation to said drive shaft, said last mentioned means driving said pairs of intermediate rollers at peripheral speeds slightly and progressively higher than that of the feed rollers to maintain taut the material passing therebetween, bracket means mounting one roller of each pair of intermediate rollers and itself mounted for pivotal movement about an axis parallel to the axis of said drive shaft, and individual weighting means for supplying pressure at the nip of each pair of intermediate rollers, when said main body is positioned between the feed and draft rollers said weighting means for the pair of intermediate rollers nearest the feed rollers producing a greater pressure on the roving or sliver than that exerted by the other pair of intermediate rollers.

6. Apparatus in accordance with claim 3, wherein sliver guides are provided between the feed rollers and the first pair of intermediate rollers and between the two pairs of intermediate rollers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,973,534 Kooistra Sept. 11, 1934 2,043,765 Morton June 9, 1936 2,238,659 Reynolds Apr. 15, 1941 2,621,372 Wilkie Dec. 16, 1952 2,673,376 Ambler Mar. 30, 1954 2,678,472 Ambler May 18, 1954 

1. AN INTERMEDIATE UNIT FOR A DRAWING APPARATUS OF THE KIND INCLUDING FEED ROLLERS, DRAFTING ROLLERS BETWEEN WHICH A ROVING OR SILVER MAY PASS AND A DRIVING SHAFT, SAID INTERMEDIATE UNIT COMPRISING A MAIN BODY ADAPTED FOR ATTACHMENT TO THE DRAWING APPARATUS BETWEEN THE FEED AND DRAFTING ROLLERS, SAID MAIN BODY INCLUDING TWO PAIRS OF INTERMEDIATE ROLLERS IN THE MAIN BODY SPACED FROM EACH OTHER ALONG A LINE EXTENDING BETWEEN THE DRAFTING AND FEED ROLLERS, EACH PAIR CONSISTING OF AN UPPER AND A LOWER ROLLER, SAID INTERMEDIATE ROLLERS BEING CONSIDERABLY SMALLER IN DIAMETER THAN THE FEED AND DRAFTING ROLLERS AND BEING SECURED TO SHAFTS ROTATABLY MOUNTED IN THE MAIN BODY, A GEAR AT ONE END OF EACH OF THE LOWER ROLLER SHAFTS, AN INTERMEDIATE GEAR CONNECTING THE TWO LOWER ROLLER GEARS AND SECURED TO ONE END OF A COMMON INTERMEDIATE SHAFT, 